📚📚 Read every day challenge - Spring 2022 🌸 🌱

[omk3]

Day 48

告白 ~ 90-100%

And, done! The ending was… . I have no words. It was just brutal fun, a huge dose of Schadenfreude shoved into one book. There were many deeper themes that were explored or hinted at, but what remained after I finished was the questionable pleasure that comes from watching the world burn.

I’ll only add that in terms of difficulty it was really uneven. The voice of different narrators is done very well, vocabulary and sentence structure varied a lot depending on who was “speaking” at the time. There were harder parts (the first chapter was indeed the hardest), and there were very easy parts. The difficulty was also due to the fact that the book is basically a collection of related monologues, and it’s sometimes hard to keep track of what they’re referring to as they jump from one thought to another. And there are also a lot of parts where the narrators reflect on abstract themes such as family, justice, moral code, etc, and these are a little harder to follow.

In terms of sensitive themes, the one I was worried about, because it did get a mention early on, animal abuse, came to nothing after all. So @pocketcat , if you want to read the book, don’t let this stop you

[Daisoujou]

To keep this quick – I read about 11,000 characters today and that’s great! What isn’t great is wearing a hand brace all day cause my wrist, as I mentioned yesterday, is remaining quite bad. Might not be checking in for a few days because of that, we’ll see what happens. I’ll do my best to keep reading though; I like your all’s updates. Might need to go look into that anki mode addon for Wanikani for the moment, hmm…

[windupbird]

Summary Post

Day 48: May 18th
What did I read?: クマとたぬき Vol 2
How much did I read?: 20 pages
How long did it take me?: 15 min

I have a headache today so I didn’t read much

But look at how pleased the tanuk looks when he finds this piece of wood

Please also enjoy the bear…doing a little dance while crossing a log? xD

A couple good words and THE CUTEST THING EVER (you will not regret opening this)

• しびれ - numbness; going to sleep (of a limb); pins and needles
• 途切れ (とぎれ) - break; pause; interruption; intermission
• モモンガ - Japanese flying squirrel (Pteromys momonga); small Japanese flying squirrel; Japanese dwarf flying squirrel

LOOK AT THIS BABY

WHAT IS THIS

SMOL

@pyororon

(Man would I love it if a bread shop like this was in my neighborhood, I’d buy bread every night )

Sameeee, where can I find this late-night bread shop
Actually it’s probably good that this doesn’t exist :x
Honestly this sounds good, I’m gonna add this to my 読みたい list

[Cathm2]

When are you planning to read コンビニ人気? I started reading it with the book club a year or two ago, but it was above my level and I fell behind. Thinking of giving it another try soon.

[enbyboiwonder]

Home

I keep trying to read more, and it’s a fraction of what I can read in English in a day, but I can’t. It’s frustrating. ほんとに活字中毒ですね……。

I finished reading the Bookwalker preview for とんでもスキル (it was a full 22 pages long, dang. I only read like 8 yesterday). It seems like it glosses over Mukouda’s arrival and first day in the new world more than the manga does (though it does explain how the currency works and gives an approximation of its value in yen), but I’m hoping it’ll go into more detail/take its time more when the story actually gets started, which of course seems to be right around when the preview ends lol. Anyway, when I start buying the series, getting more than one volume of the manga is a definite possibility, but I’m only gonna start out with one volume of the novels in case it turns out I don’t like it after all.

I think my limit for novel pages I can read in a day (at least, for N3-level and thereabouts; I did read 20+ pages of 夜カフェ the other day no problem and felt I could do more) has increased. A while back, I read 10 or so pages of 2.43 and then decided that, hey, there are only 6 pages left in this chapter, I can go ahead and just finish it right now! That’s not that much! That was a mistake. I made it, but it was exhausting. But what I had left of the とんでもスキル preview today was about that much, and I had more problems with the format than the length.

I also read the preview for 探偵事務所の飼い主さま. I might give it a shot, might not, we’ll see. And for ダンジョン飯, which I’m also not sure about. Sometimes the previews just aren’t long enough lol. And for とんがり帽子のアトリエ, which is definitely going on my to-read list. And I am tired now.

I played some Heroes today, though it wasn’t much, and I didn’t look up any of the words I didn’t know.

Some party talk with Terry:

Terry, you’ve already died once, against that star chimera and boss troll. You wanna fight even stronger monsters? Do you wanna die?? Well, tough. We gotta level up some first.

Some vocab of note:

白金 (はっきん) I thought this would be white gold, but it’s actually platinum. With the reading しろがね, it’s also an old word for silver.
云々 (うんぬん) [expression] and so on; and so forth; etcetera; and such; and the like. Mostly I picked this one because I think the reading’s interesting. First time I’ve seen a word where the 々 isn’t read the same as kanji it repeats, barring rendaku. I know sometimes あ-column sounds will shift to the corresponding な-column sound when following an ん in compounds (like 反応, 天王星), but this is the first time I’ve seen it in a word like this.
心血 (しんけつ) [noun] heart and soul; all one’s heart; putting all one’s energy into something
乗合馬車 (のりあいばしゃ) [noun] stagecoach; horse-drawn carriage
背に腹は代えられない (せにはらはかえられない) [proverb] you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs; you can’t solve a problem without making some sacrifice. Interestingly, this spelling, which is what was used in とんでもスキル, is listed third on imiwa, but it’s the only suggestion that came up while I was typing it using my laptop’s IME. I made a note then that this one’s probably the most common.

[DIO-Berry]

Day 47

• ジョジョの奇妙な冒険

Start-30

I really wanted to read a lot more, like to page fifty but figured I should go to bed.

It’s so bizarre to go from Part 1 to Part 3. The tonal shift is huge! I was not expecting it. I really wanted to read more like I said and there was no Dio, so maybe characters from my top 10 are enough to sustain my interest and attention.

[2OC3aOdKgwSGlxfz]

May 18th (Calendar Post)

隣の席の佐藤さん => 98 pages (107 min)

Fun panels from today’s reading:

え

[dunlewy]

My complete set of Graded Readers, Level 1, came in today, and I started reading the first story,
“女の子”. I read six pages and it seems like a weird story. It really has my interest in high gear. I would read more if I’d gotten home sooner. Anyway, it still is easy reading, so that’s good. I like these books because they are written like any Japanese book, starting from the back and read from top to bottom.

[polv]

@polv

I wonder what kind of device people here use to read on Bookwalker (or Kindle)? Smartphone? Tablet?

Please round up the number, btw.

• Smartphones (5-inch or lower)
• 7-inch tablets
• 10-inch or larger tablets
• Something else electronic

There are some obvious devices that I forgot, like PC or laptop. I am curious otherwise on what something else mean? Perhaps something specialized like Kindle Paperwhite or 3DS?

In any case, please list only ones that you read on sufficiently frequently. For example, I don’t count myself as a reader on laptop.

• PC
• Laptop
• Kindle Paperwhite
• Handheld consoles, like 3DS
• Yet others

[natarin]

May 18 Home Post

I spent like eight hours of today driving sooo not the most reading time but I played some Story of Seasons! It was a delight as always

@omk3

is that the manga or the novel?

Yeah it’s the manga! I really didn’t expect to read as much then as I did so yeah I’d say I enjoyed it! I kept being curious about what was gonna happen and before I knew it I just finished the chapter pretty good mileage for free haha.

[omk3]

@windupbird

LOOK AT THIS BABY

How is this even real?!? Why didn’t I know about it?

(Are we sure it didn’t just escape from an anime studio?)

[Axazel]

@omk3

Are we sure it didn’t just escape from an anime studio?)

we’re not sure

[MissDagger]

May 19

And today I finished Roman Holiday booklet. The story picked up considerably from the boring part early on. Note for authors: when half your main characters (and there are exactly two) are asleep, interesting/fun conflict is hard to do.

(Side note: if you want to read some more commentary from me about graded readers, I did a post over in that book club.

Tomorrow, or today maybe if I have time, I will dig into native content. So I guess it is time to check on the poll and close it. /be right back

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Poll results and my reflections on it

Thanks everyone for your votes and comments. It honestly helped me pick what I am going to read next and feel confident in my choice. Before then, I was pretty wishy-washy about what to pick, so your votes made a difference.

Lets go from the bottom up, shall we?

結婚しても got the short stick for sure. But perhaps you all agreed that I should try and revive the off-shoot book club and therefore voting for me reading it alone, made no sense. ^^ That is my interpretation of the no votes anyway.

Something else was the suggestion of Fruits Basket, and it is high-ish on my list, so I made it fairly easily accessible too when I re-arranged my boxes of books. Aria got almost no love, haha. Poor Aria.

I’m not sure exactly when I will pick Aria, but for some reason I’m feeling pretty hype about it? Maybe because despite seeing it mentioned a lot around the forum (when it was an active club and for some time after), I actually don’t really know what happens in it at all. I know it is slice-of-life-ish, but how much? How much overarching plot is there? It does have an end, so supposedly something gets finished/changed (I hope anyway). But options higher in the poll is definitely higher on my reading list for now.

Sailor V was about as popular as the other low ones. Make me think that maybe I’ll just read it after Sailor Moon, like I originally planned. (Of course, I didn’t know that it was a prequel (I think) and started before Sailor Moon, when I started Sailor Moon.)

I’m skipping discussing Orange for a bit, and instead sticking with Sailor Moon. I found it interesting how many voted for me to continue that despite my somewhat negative commentary on it. Not sure what it means. Maybe we’re all just a bunch of completionists?

Just to be clear, I’m not putting anyone down for picking that. I would have left it off the poll if it truly didn’t interest me. ^^

Edit: I realized I forgot to get back to Orange, it has been covered pretty well in replies to the poll. It is high in my priority because it is one long story, but also only 6 volumes long. So not a super long time commitment while also giving the satisfaction of reading a proper story (instead of slice of life). And would hopefully have more even difficulty than Sailor Moon which always gets harder towards the end of an arch when the enemies are more present.

When it comes to manga, I think my plan looks like this:

1. Read volume 1 of Yotsubato.
2. Continue with volume 2 directly, or finish of the current arc in Sailor Moon (or possibly both)
3. Profit?!?!?!
4. Keep reading Sailor Moon or switch to Orange, while possibly reading Yotsubato on the side.
5. I don’t plan this far in advance.

As for Zenitendou… I honestly don’t know where I wanna slot that in. It got enough votes that clearly I should try to get to it sooner rather than later (it gained second place!). I’ll probably check in how I feel when I’ve finished the current arc of Sailor Moon. So maybe I won’t read more Sailor Moon or start Orange at that time, but slot Zenitendou there (so step 3 4).

So later today or tomorrow, Yotsubato is on the menu. /nom nom nom

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On a slightly unrelated note, considering the difficulty of 坊っちゃん, would that be considered hard enough for Intermediate book club? I’m just kinda curious where I kinda fall in my current reading ability. ^^ I’ll probably be looking to join BBC for the next pick.

(Even if I can deal with IBC’s difficulty, its weekly volume might be more of a hindrance right now. I want to have time to read my own picks. :3 )

Edit: PS, I leveled up today. <3

[NicoleIsEnough]

@MissDagger

On a slightly unrelated note, considering the difficulty of 坊っちゃん, would that be considered hard enough for Intermediate book club? I’m just kinda curious where I kinda fall in my current reading ability. ^^ I’ll probably be looking to join BBC for the next pick.

(Even if I can deal with IBC’s difficulty, its weekly volume might be more of a hindrance right now. I want to have time to read my own picks. :3 )

Like you guessed, the book club difficulty levels are often rather around “how much are you supposed to read in one week” instead of “how hard is it” - simply because it’s so hard to judge difficulty Thankfully now we have Natively which helps a lot.
And yes, Beginner book club picks tend to be somewhat simpler (but that does not always work out) and the “Hard” category of the Advanced book club is named like that for a reason, but for Intermediate and Advanced-Fast, I cannot really draw a line when it comes to difficulty.

For your graded reader version of 坊っちゃん, I haven’t seen enough of it to determine its difficulty. Could you maybe post one or two pages of it to give us an impression?
Of course it would be “safer” to join the Beginner club first, but don’t hold yourself back when you are interested in reading Spy x Family and/or TUGUMI with the club. Usually interest trumps current skill level by far.

For your poll, I mainly picked Zenitendou because I wanted to say “read a non-manga book!” So it’s up to you what you make of it.

[Thud]

I’m not sure, might be first or last of that pile. First because it is compact, last because this is most adult piece of literature I have. Either way it will be june at earliest.

[Naphthalene]

About ARIA

@MissDagger

How much overarching plot is there?

Err, pretty much none? I guess the character trying to become 一人前 in her profession of choice, but that’s not something that happens over night so the whole thing is just her making friends and discovering the world.

@MissDagger

It does have an end

I wanted it to continue forever

[omk3]

I knew it!

Although, now that I look at it again, this may be the only case in history where reality is actually cuter than the anime equivalent?

[Zakarius]

Tanuki Den (aka Homepost): Date 20220519

Tanuki Scroll XLIX: 魔物のふろしき包み

Read today’s hyakumonogatari, this one features the return of VERY STRONG MAN but this time he’s a baggage carrier who laughs like this: がはははは.

---

Japanese found in the tall grass

New Things

貫目「かんめ」ー A unit of measurement, about 3.75kg

Forgotten Things
担い「にない」ー carrying; shouldering; bearing.
I knew the kanji but couldn’t remember how to say it

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@windupbird

THE CUTEST THING EVER (you will not regret opening this)

Never have I opened a spoiler tag so fast.

@omk3

How is this even real?!?

This is my sentiment too, how can they even exist??

[potatonaught]

Happy forums anniversay @Zakarius !

May 19

I didn’t read anything yesterday cause I was hanging out with friends who were only in town for one day.

Tonight is more Dragon Quest! Looking forward to it.

[MissDagger]

Replies

@NicoleIsEnough

For your graded reader version of 坊っちゃん, I haven’t seen enough of it to determine its difficulty. Could you maybe post one or two pages of it to give us an impression?
Of course it would be “safer” to join the Beginner club first, but don’t hold yourself back when you are interested in reading Spy x Family and/or TUGUMI with the club. Usually interest trumps current skill level by far.

But then you would know without a doubt that the rest of it was (so much) easier than the hardest sentences that I posted here.

So many things I wanna read. Spy x Family has certainly come on my radar, but I’m also trying to stop myself from buying more books before I’ve finished some more of those I own. I want to be a bookworm, not a book collector (Which kinda defies my wish to join book clubs. The internal struggle is real.)

However, point well taken! ^^ I will certainly let interest be my guide for whether I join a book club or not.

@NicoleIsEnough

For your poll, I mainly picked Zenitendou because I wanted to say “read a non-manga book!” So it’s up to you what you make of it.

Ah, I forgot this point. You were probably not the only one. ^^ Manga seems so much safer to start, a lot of the time. With pictures to help and all, but it can also be a mess of casual language. (More on that in a bit, lol.)

@Naphthalene

Err, pretty much none? I guess the character trying to become 一人前 in her profession of choice, but that’s not something that happens over night so the whole thing is just her making friends and discovering the world.

Does sound fun. I don’t mind a slow progression without an overarching plot, but only as long as everyone doesn’t feel completely stuck in a time bubble (like many sitcoms are/was).

@Naphthalene

I wanted it to continue forever

Awwww

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So I couldn’t stop myself from peeking into my next choice. I’d forgotten just how different truly casual language is.

Thankfully, I had a master course in learning how to read it waaaay back in 2019(?) during the 結婚しても愛してる book club. But I also need to remember it, haha. I don’t even think Sailor Moon gets that much contraction and slang. Or maybe my memory is poor on that.

Still, I remember looking at the first few pages of Yotsuba& when I originally bought in 2018/2019, and I think I struggled through a few pages and then gave up. While I could strangle the dad for his very casual way of putting together sentences (on top of contraction heaven) at least I understand what is happening, and with a bit of help from the book club I get even better comprehension. ^^

I think it’ll be a smoother read once my brain have once again remembered what casual language is (and I’ve gotten used to the author’s style/the characters’ speech patterns).